Xu Pu sneered at Liu Ji's words, stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, all things that bring benefit and eliminate harm, and that are beneficial to the local area, must be implemented. Illegal salt is just a disease of scabies, and merchants trapped in guarding branches are a serious problem. , I hope your Majesty will think twice!"
Zhu Youtang hesitated for a while and said, "Fellow ministers?"
Li Min, the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, stepped forward. Li Min had a rich resume as censor, governor, and governor of water transportation. During his tenure, he converted the summer and autumn field taxes in Hebei, Shanxi, and Shaanxi provinces into grain in silver, eliminating losses during the journey and bringing more revenue to the treasury. , Therefore, he is also a staunch supporter of Kaizhong Nayin. The money collected by merchants for silver and salt will eventually flow into the Ministry of Household Affairs, while those who go to the border to receive grain will eventually flow to the border army.
"I think this method is definitely not feasible. Water transport and the salt industry are the main sources of taxes for the imperial court. I agree with the opinion of the chief minister and should not act rashly."
Liu Jian knew very well what Li Min was thinking. Now that the supporters of the DPRK and the Central Bank of China have the upper hand, he was just afraid that the emperor would adopt the salt-drying method, and then there might be a few more variables out of thin air.
"Reporting to your majesty, I think this method can be tried out in Fujian first, and we will wait and see the effect before making any other suggestions! If it is feasible and will benefit the country, then it will not matter whether it is food or silver. The most important thing is to ensure the food and salary of the border troops. Enough to stabilize military morale."
Zheng Ying, Marquis of Wu'an, was not concerned about the opening of the DPRK. In his opinion, only Liu Jian spoke to his heart. As long as the military pay was sufficient and the military morale was available, he would not care whether it was silver or grain. These were not their concerns. All the generals care about is that they only need to charge and win on the battlefield.
As for He Qiaoxin, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Jia Jun, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, they were looking at their noses and hearts at the moment. They were concerned about matters that had nothing to do with themselves. At this moment, Zhu Youtang was a little confused about whether Liu Ji and Xu Pu were fighting for each other. When it comes to disputes, everyone should express their opinions on the matter.
Zhu Youtang noticed from the corner of his eye that Li Jie was silent at this moment, and said, "Lin Aiqing, you should also comment."
Li Jie replied: "Reporting to your majesty, I believe that the most urgent task is to protect the branches. If the wood is cut down, it will regenerate if it does not come from its source. If the water is blocked, it will flow again. The root of the problem of protecting the branches is salt." If we don't increase production, how will we adjust the food supply when there is a war in the future? Now we should focus on the big and ignore the small, and focus on urgency first and slow down later."
Xu Pu nodded secretly after listening to Li Jie's speech. Things have priorities. It's almost urgent and there are so many worries. Moreover, what is being discussed now is not nationwide promotion, but just a trial run in the Fujian salt area.
At this time, Si Youtong Zheng, Wu Yu, the general envoy who had always been a neutral faction, stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, I agree with Mr. Xu Ge's proposal. It should be tried out in the Fujian salt area first. After doing it, you will know the right way. One person can stop the system. What you can see is limited, just like a glance, how can you fully understand the emotions of all things? No matter what the result is, just try it first to see what happens."
Liu Ji was surprised when he saw that Wu Yu, who had always remained neutral on weekdays, actually voiced his approval of Xu Pu's suggestion. Before he could think about it, Chen Shou coughed and stepped forward to speak.
"Your Majesty, I would like to suggest that officials should not just stick to what they have seen before. They must eliminate it before they can see new ideas. Just like removing the turbid water and then clearing it up, you might as well try the method of drying salt. Each one can eliminate its shortcomings and combine its strengths. , is the way to govern the country."
Liu Ji's surprised and uncertain look made Li Jie secretly laugh. The general affairs envoy Si Youtongzheng, Wu Yu and Hu Ke were both upset. Of course Chen Shou would not stand up to support Xu Pu for no reason. They stood up all because of Li Jie's original intention. The letter brought from Baisha revealed that Wu Yu was one of Chen Xianzhang's friends, and Chen Shou, in addition to being a good friend of Chen Xianzhang, also had a good relationship with Liang Chu in private.
Xu Pu was also a little confused at the moment. These two people were usually quiet and kept neutral. He could understand Chen Shou's support a little bit. Chen Shou and Liang Chu were usually very close. With Li He was not too surprised when he came forward about the relationship between Jie and Liang Chu. What really confused him was Wu Yu's sudden support.
Liu Ji also wanted to argue. Zhu Youtang said: "In this case, let's try out the method of drying salt in the Fujian salt area first, and let the cabinet draft a decree and submit it."
Xu Pu looked happy and said respectfully: "I obey the decree. Your Majesty is wise. This is really a blessing for the Ming Dynasty!"
Others echoed: "Your Majesty is wise!"
The corners of Zhu Youtang's mouth raised slightly. At this time, he had just succeeded to the throne and had not yet been able to express his emotions and anger.
"In that case, let's move on to the next topic. Dear ladies, please speak freely."
Wu'an Marquis Zheng Ying stepped forward impatiently and said: "Reporting to your Majesty, in the 19th year of Chenghua, the young prince led more than 30,000 horsemen to attack the border troops in Datong in order to take revenge. Our army lost more than 500 people and injured more than 1,000. , this time he invaded the border again, and he claimed to be the Great Khan of the Yuan Dynasty in the document. The Yuan Dynasty had long been destroyed, which is unbearable! I thought that I should avenge my shame, and immediately increased my troops to make sure that all the little prince's 100,000 troops Leave!"
Liu Jian frowned, now this battle is unstoppable, but in his opinion, this battle should not be expanded, as long as the momentum is used to leave a profound lesson to the little prince, once the Tatars are fully engaged, they will not be unable to fight back. .
"Your Majesty, I believe that this war is inevitable. The little prince has bullied others too much. If we don't fight, we will weaken the world's desire to cultivate martial arts and grow Hu Qingzhong's country's heart. However, we cannot start a full-scale war. The key to military affairs lies in the cultivation of politics and the cultivation of military power. The key to politics lies in the hearts and minds of the people, and now that the people's hearts and minds are not stable, it is really not appropriate to start a full-scale war!"
Liu Ji was extremely conflicted at the moment. Xu Pu reached out to the General Affairs Department and the Sixth Section, but he did not dare to blatantly win over the military bosses. At that time, the emperor saw that you were so bold that you dared to win over the military. You What do you want to do? Want to rebel? However, he was still prepared to sell well to the military and did not dare to ask for anything in return, as long as it did not hold him back at the critical moment.
"Your Majesty, I think that Marquis Wu'an's words are reasonable, but Yi and Di do not believe them. Now, with the majesty of the Celestial Dynasty, I am dealing with dogs and sheep for this matter. This is a confusion between heaven and earth. I am wearing the same weapon, so I will not make fun of it in the world?"
Xu Pu snorted coldly in his heart. Liu Ji rarely agreed with him yesterday and opposed large-scale war. He didn't expect that the court meeting would change its mind as soon as it was announced today. It was really capricious, so he immediately retorted.
"Your Majesty, since ancient times, the appearance and bustle are all for profit. People on the grassland do not cultivate and weave, and the land has no other products. Although the little prince is strong, he is not without internal contradictions. What Wu'an Marquis said In the battle of Yan Datong, Wang Zhi was also the first to attack Weining Haizi in order to claim credit, and since then there has been no peace on the border."
"What the little prince wants this time is firstly to meet the daily needs of the tribe, and secondly, to use the power of our dynasty to frighten other tribes by paying tribute. As long as he agrees not to call himself the Great Khan of the Yuan Dynasty, but to call himself a vassal country, I will I think that a mutual trade in tribute can be opened up, so it is not appropriate to engage in a big fight in this battle, just stop it."
